August is like December to football coaches

I sat next to Dan Hawkins on the bus back to the hotel last week after touring the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium and the Colorado football coach said he was more than excited to begin August drills.

I believe he used the phrase “fired up.”

“I always tell my wife that I will know when it’s time to retire,” Hawkins said during Big 12 football media days. “Because if it’s this time of year and I’m not itching to go …

“I think the longer you do this, the more you feel blessed that you have an opportunity to do this and be a part of a young people’s lives, be a part of college football, be in such a great conference with so many great teams and programs and coaches. That’s always a tremendous thrill.”

Sounds like any thought of retirement is a long way off.

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Hawkins was the only Big 12 coach to take players on the media tour of the $1 billion Cowboys Stadium, which will host the next two conference championship games.

CU linebackers Jeff Smart and Marcus Burton and tight end Riar Geer were joined by linebackers coach Brian Cabral. Hawkins hoped the tour would make them anxious to return to the stadium for the conference title game, an added incentive to win the Big 12 North Division.

“I believe in visualization,” Hawkins said.

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After each head coach spoke during Big 12 media days, reporters surrounded them for a “breakout” session. Among the coaches, Hawkins may have drawn the fewest reporters (Iowa State’s Paul Rhoads attracted more interest because he’s new to the league) but I get the impression that was OK with him.

Hawk would rather sneak up on people.

“I think we have a chance, provided we can avoid some of the injuries we had last year and get a little momentum going,” Hawkins said. “We have a chance to do some really nice things this year.”

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Preseason expectations can get out of whack, if not ridiculous.

A reporter at Big 12 media days was trying to get Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy to talk about how his team plans to handle the pressure better than Texas Tech did last year.

“Wait a minute,” Gundy said. “Tech had a great season. They won 11 games. If you tell me we’ll win 11 games right now …”

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Josh Freeman and Graham Harrell have moved on, but Big 12 quarterbacks are still a national story.

In Rivals.com’s power ranking of college QBs, the Internet site listed four Big 12 quarterbacks 2-5 behind frontrunner Tim Tebow of Florida. In order, were Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Texas’ Colt McCoy, Oklahoma State’s Zac Robinson and Kansas’ Todd Reesing. Robert Griffin of Baylor was ranked 11th.

Bzdelik can talk some “northsider” smack to Dragicevich. Bzdelik also grew up in suburban Chicago. His hometown of Mount Prospect is only about three or four miles from Northbrook.

Another CU target, according to Rivals.com, is 6-9 Kevin Panzer, a forward at Mission Viejo (Calif.) Capistrano Valley. Panzer told Rivals.com recently that his top three is comprised of Colorado, Gonzaga and Pennsylvania.

Yes, that’s Penn of the Ivy League. Evidently, Panzer wouldn’t have any trouble getting his transcript through the CU admissions office.

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One of the best quotes I got during the summer came from Ballyneal head golf pro Matt Payne while doing a story on that highly rated club in the sand hills south of Holyoke.

Payne is from Orange County, Calif., so moving to Holyoke (population about 2,300) must have been quite a culture shock. But Payne has grown to appreciate the benefits of small-town life. Holyoke, the county seat of Phillips County, is located in far northeastern Colorado, just 12 miles from Nebraska. There’s a picture of a pheasant on the “Welcome to Holyoke” sign.

Said Payne: “I can go and get my haircut. I can go to the bank. I can go to the post office. I can get new tags for my car. I can go shopping. I can gas up the car – all in about 45 minutes, from the same parking space.

“In Orange County, to do all that you need to take a day and a half off work.”

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Plea to NFL writers: Don’t be afraid to mention where the pros went to college.

I hate it when I read that Larry Linebacker was a fourth-round draft choice in 2005.

From where?

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Hate to see another Coloradan leave the state, but good luck to pro golfer Tom Glissmeyer on his move to Fort Worth, Texas.

Glissmeyer grew up in Colorado Springs and completed his eligibility at the University of Southern California this spring. He said living near the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport will make travel easier as a touring pro.

Glissmeyer will play out of Shady Oaks Country Club, which had Ben Hogan as a member. Frequenting Shady Oaks these days are PGA Tour player Chad Campbell and LPGA star Angela Stanford. I wonder how often Glissmeyer will be asked by Shady Oaks members about playing in the 2003 U.S. Open as a 16-year-old? Hundreds of times, I’d guess.

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A week of my summer vacation was spent in the high country and I shed more than one tear seeing the millions of acres of brown trees, victims of the pine beetle.

I read several articles about the pine beetle. I understand the challenges. But my bottom-line question is this: We could put a man on the moon 40 years ago and we can’t stop a beetle?

Some may not be aware that Lundquist has been a year-round resident of Steamboat for more than two decades. Verne and Nancy are patrons of the “Strings in the Mountains” concert series and just about everyone in town knows them.

We palled around with the Lundquists for a couple of days, with them graciously serving as tour guides and hosts. (I had been to Steamboat a half-dozen times but Pam was a newbie.)

“Dan Jenkins said every guy needs an ‘Ego Room,’’’ Verne said while giving us a tour of their home. “Well, I have to admit I have two.” (Don’t get the wrong impression. Verne is anything but egotistical.)

His memorabilia include a poster-sized enlargement of a photo showing Tiger Woods’ chip-in on No. 16 at the 2005 Masters that hung on the edge of the cup for more than a full second before dropping. Woods signed it: “To Verne Lundquist. Great call! – Tiger Woods.”

For those who don’t remember, Ludquist’s call was, “Oh, WOW! In YOUR LIFE have you seen ANYTHING like that?”

It’s worth finding on YouTube. Guaranteed to brighten any day.

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My summer reading included “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle,” a best-selling, first novel by Denver-area-based David Wroblewski, and “The Pro’s Pro,” a bio on former Cherry Hills Country Club golf professional Warren Smith by Denver-based writer Tripp Baltz. I highly recommend both books.

I wondered if a book about a club pro might be a bit slow, but Baltz’s thorough research and fun anecdotes make it an interesting read. You’ll even find out about Smith’s favorite vehicles. Hint: He likes muscle cars that almost “rear up on the back tires before taking off.”